Providence Hires Athletic Trainers for Valley Schools

Athletic trainers from Providence Health & Services will be placed in seven San Fernando Valley high schools, the hospital system announced Tuesday.

The trainers will work at Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills; Burbank High School, Providence High School and Burroughs High School in Burbank; Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks; Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth; and Taft High School in Woodland Hills. Funds for the trainers’ placement are provided by Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and Providence Tarzana Medical Center, Providence said. All the trainers are board-certified and hold either bachelor’s or master’s degrees in athletic training.

The state of California does not require high schools to hire athletic trainers, despite the fact that most athletic deaths occur in high school populations, Providence noted in a statement. Since 2007, 26 students statewide have died due to sports-related injuries or illnesses.

“We believe many of these injuries – and possibly some of these tragic deaths – could have been prevented if … (a trainer) had been available,” Dale Surowitz, chief executive of Providence Tarzana, said in a statement. “Our research shows that having athletic trainers at high school sports events results in fewer serious injuries.”

Providence is pushing for its program to be adopted by more schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District next year, a representative from the health system told the Business Journal.